How the newest wide receivers can help the Chicago Bears this season
It appears to me that adding both Nsimba Webster and Breshad Perriman is Matt Nagy’s way of replacing Cordarelle Patterson’s unique combination of size and speed to go along with having played multiple roles for the Bears. Perriman has a comparable frame to Patterson at 6’2″ and 209 pounds.
Patterson runs a 4.42 40-yard dash, which is very fast for someone his size. However, Perriman at 10 pounds lighter, runs a 4.35. For comparison sake, Rodney Adams runs a 4.44 at 6’1″ and 189 pounds. It is really good that the Bears have added Rodney Adams to their practice squad as they could use more height, preferably, with speed in their wide receiver options.
Getting back to Perriman, I believe it was his combination of size and speed that the Chicago Bears found irresistible. Perriman and Patterson are both best used when you send them on a go-route deep and hope they get open by outrunning their coverage.
In his first two years in the NFL with the Ravens, Perriman had trouble holding onto the ball. However, after leaving Baltimore then playing for the Browns in 2018, and then playing in 2019 for the Bucs, Perriman had a string of 80 consecutive targets with only one drop.
In 2019 he had his best season playing for Tampa Bay. In his one season with the Bucs, Perriman grabbed 36 passes for 645 receiving yards including six receiving touchdowns. In 2020, playing for the Jets, he led their team in average yards-per-target with 8.4. As a deep threat with exceptional speed and good height, he is a big play waiting to happen.